Fantasy football Week 12 stat projections

You can never really be too sure what the Patriots are going to do, other than score somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 points. If you allowed that knowledge to guide your lineup last week, you may have enjoyed one of the most unexpected individual performances of the season.

Jonas Gray, who was on New England’s practice squad before Stevan Ridley’s season-ending knee injury, racked up 201 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries in the Patriots’ 42-20 win over the Colts last week. He scored 44.1 fantasy points in standard-scoring leagues, so if you had the foresight to get him in your lineup, chances are you picked up a win in Week 11.

What surprises do the Patriots have in store for the fantasy community in Week 12? Who will be the running back who leads his owners to a big win this week? Find out that and more in the SI.com fantasy football stat projections for Week 12.

You’ve held onto Gordon this long, or recently made a trade for him. You aren’t going to put him on your bench, are you? That would be a mistake. At the same time, this is a nice matchup for the Falcons at home.

The Titans had their best game with Zach Mettenberger under center last Monday and get an even better matchup this week with the Eagles. Despite a terrible real-life performance, the Eagles delivered from a fantasy standpoint, as they so often do, last week.

Rarely is a 6-4 team considered a lock for the playoffs as the Colts are right now. That has to do mostly with Luck, but it will be very interesting to see how this offense adjusts to life without Ahmad Bradshaw.

Dalton bounced back from a nightmare performance by throwing for 220 yards and three touchdowns last week. Giovani Bernard could miss another game because of his hip injury, making Hill a must-play again this week. The Texans expect to get Foster back from a groin injury this week, but they know they don’t have to rush him with Blue a more than capable backup.

This is the reverse of the Buccaneers-Bears game. These two teams are superior to those two, but this is not going to be a very explosive game offensively. We’ve been harping on it for weeks, but fantasy owners can’t trust Wilson in matchups where his legs are unlikely to be a factor.

The Rams just pulled off the biggest upset of the season and may be poised to spring another one on the Chargers. San Diego’s offense has sputtered in its last four games, though Mathews ran well in his first game back from injury last week.

The Dolphins figure to present a much greater challenge defensively to the Broncos than the Rams did last week, but something tells me Manning and company aren’t going to come up short two weeks in a row. Miller’s owners should have faith in him after seeing him run so well last week.

Washington has once again devolved into chaos, making Morris and Jackson the only trustworthy players on the roster. This sets up as a very nice matchup for Kaepernick and Gore, who should be able to carve up the Washington defense.

The Saints have to adjust to life without Brandin Cooks, who went on injured reserve with a broken thumb. That makes Stills and Colston a whole lot more attractive for fantasy purposes. Meanwhile, Torrey Smith has averaged 10.3 fantasy points per game since Week 3, better than teammate Steve Smith’s pace for the entire season.

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